The first electric blood collection vehicle powered by Li-ion batteries appeared on Fudan campus recently. This new electric vehicle is different from the traditional blood collection vehicle in its environment-friendliness as well as its capability to collect blood components.
Head of the Municipal Blood Center told us that such two vehicles will be put into use in the city this year. There will be 12 vehicles in total by the end of 2017 to collect blood from citizens on the streets.
In 2016, college students and faculty have donated 61,614 units of blood (200 ml/unit). Among them, 397 students from seven universities positively responded to donate 246 doses (250 ml/dose) of platelet. The blood component collection in Shanghai started in 2003 and have supplied 42, 276 volume/person to the hospitals, an increase of 16.25% from last year, but the shortage remains.
Collection of blood components refers to the process of collecting a certain component by blood cell separator. Almost all components, including plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets, can be collected separately, but they take longer time than whole blood collection. The medical examination and collection takes at least 2 hours and requires donors to go to the blood center before this vehicle became available.
